Means for effecting dimpling operations



Oct. 3, 1944. R. c. TURTLE 2,359,696

' MEANS rfon EFFEGTING DIMPLING OPERATIONS Filed Jan. 27, 1943 Patented Oct. 3, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR EFFECTING DIMPLING OPERATIONS Rupert Clifiord Turtle, Shirley, Croydon, England Application January 27, 1943, Serial No. 473,756 In Great Britain February 21, 1942 9 Claims.

be carried out with the aid of a punch and hammer, but in many cases it is difficult to employ such tools owing to restrictions in the space available. Moreover, it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to effect a secure and satisfactory junction owing, inter alia, to, the difiiculty of properly supporting the tubular body, pipe or the like during the dimpling operation, the danger of collapsing the tubular body, pipe or the like, and so failing to establish the localised and secure gripping of the parts, and/or the danger of completely severing the central core or body or damaging it to such an extent that it is incapable of transmitting any substantial load. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a tool with the aid of which dimpling operations can be quickly and easily carried out. A further object is-to provide a tool wherein the possibility of carrying out a dimpling operation to an extent resulting in the dimples being deeper than desired is positively prevented.

Another object is to provide a tool wherein the supports for the work to be dimpled are so disposed that they can receive such work either longitudinally or laterally.

With the above and other objects in view the present invention resides in the features hereinafter described and claimed in the appended claims.

According to a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a tool for effecting dimpling operations comprising two movably interconnected arms or levers, two punches, dies or the like carried in opposed positions on said arms, levers or the like andtwo bolsters, beds or the like mounted on the respective arms, levers, or the like and having apertures through which said punches, dies or the like extend, said bolsters, beds or the like having their opposed faces suitably contoured for supporting the work con- .cerned.

The aforesaid punches, dies or the like are preferably removably fitted to the aforesaid arms :or levers so that they can be easily removed for removal or re-grinding, and so that any desired die of a selection of dies of different shapes By the term and/or sizes can be used. Thus, for instance, said dies may be secured in apertures in the opposed faces of the armsor levers by means of set screws.

The aforesaid bolsters, beds or the like are preferably movably mounted on the arms, levers, or the like, and arepreferably urged towards one another by spring pressure so that .the work can be placed between the two bolsters, beds or the like without encountering any obstruction by said punches, dies or the like, providing the arms, levers or the like are in their open'ed positions. Said bolsters, beds or .the like or carriers associated therewith may be so formed that a flared entrance is formed therebetween thus facilitating the insertion of the work in a lateral direction, such for example as would be necessary if the part of the work to be dimpled had enlarged end parts or fittings which prevented its being inserted longitudinally between the.

limiting the movement of the aforesaid punches,

dies or the like towards one another and any suitable means may be provided for controlling the movements of the aforesaid arms, levers or the like. Thus for instance we may employ a shaft making screw threaded engagement with the outer ends of said arms, levers or the like, and the inner ends of the latter may be pivotally inter-connected. In such cases for the purpose of symmetry and keeping the overall dimensions of the tool as small as possible said shaft may make engagement with one arm, lever or the like through a right-hand thread, and with the other arm, lever or the like through a left-hand thread. In order that the present invention may be well understood I will now describe, by way of example only, one embodiment thereof with ref erence to the accompanying drawing inwhich: Figure 1 is a front elevation of the tool in its opened condition,

V Figure 2 is a front elevation ofthe toolin'its closed condition,

the arms being relatively short and two being relatively long. The shorter arms are pivotally interconnected by means of a pivot bolt 3 passing through a forked end 4 of one of said arms and through a reduced end 5 of the other of said arms, said reduced end being received within said fork. I

The outer ends of the longer arms have forked ends for receiving trunnions 6 and capable of turning about axes parallel to the axis of the above-mentioned pivot bolt 3 and said trunnions have screw-threaded apertures adapted to engage with. the screw-threaded ends of an adjusting screw 8 interconnecting said trunnions 6 and 1. One end of said adjusting screw is provided with a right-hand thread and the other end is provided with a left hand thread and. the holes in the re spective trunnions are correspondingly threaded.

In order positively to prevent the levers l and 2 from being moved towards one another to an extent in excess of that required for performing a dimpling operation, the parts concerned may be so disposed that at the termination of the required dimpling movement the outer ends of the levers abut against one another as indicated in Figure 2. If however it is desired to limit the inward movement to a still greater extent a boss may for instance be formed onor secured to the central part side surfaces of the respective levers, said side plates being formed integrally with the said blocks or separately therefrom, and secured thereto for instance by means of rivets as may be desired.

The lower ends of the plates 19, 20, and 2|, 22 extend downwardly beyond the ends of the respective blocks I! and I8, and also inwardly, the inwardly extending parts being slightly offset as indicated in Figs. 3 and 5 so that holes in the plates extending from the respective blocks can be moved into registration with one another and into registration with the holes in the levers l and 2, the pivot pin 3 bein adapted ot pass through all of said holes.

The aforesaid supports for the work are therefore free to swing within limits about the pivot pin 3, and springs23, 24 engaging the respective levers and the inner surfaces of the supports are of the adjusting screw 8,the limiting approach of the lever ends towards one another then beingdetermined by the length of said boss.

2 Any desired means may be provided for enabling the adjusting screw 8 to be turned. Thus for instance a handle such as the handle fl'shown in the drawing may be provided or the adjustv ing screw may be provided with flat for engagement by a key or holes for engagement by a tommy bar.

- Recesses are provided on the inner faces of the aforesaid levers l and 2 at points adjacent to their pivoted ends for receiving the desired dies [0 and H, such recesses being in opposed alignment with respect to one another and located for instance about one inch from the pivoted ends of the-levers.

The-dies employed have cylindrical body portions with inner portions of frusto-conical form leading to reduced end portions 12- and I3 constituting the operative parts of the dies. The latter parts are of circular cross-section and their end. faces may be of semi-circular, conical or other desired contour dependent upon the desired shape of the dimple to be formed.

The aforesaid dies III and II also include recesses or flattened portions, one of which is shown in Fig. 6 and designated [4, for engagement by set screws [5 and 16, passing through the front faces of the aforesaid levers l and 2, provision being thus made for easily fitting and removing such dies.

A support for the work to be dimpled is formed by two metal blocks H and I8 and side plates i9, 20 and 2|; 22 respectively extend from said blocks and are adapted to pass over the adjacent provided for swinging the supports towards one another. These springs may, as shown, consist of helical compression springs and locating recesses may be provided in the respective levers and supports, a recess 25 being shown in the lever 2 in Figure 6, and a recess 26 being shown in the supporting block I 8 in Figure 4.

The aforesaid metal blocks [1 and 18 forming a support for the work are provided with opposed semi-circular recesses designated 21 and 28 respectively, so that good support is formed for the tubular body to be dimpled and such blocks also include apertures 29 and 30 through which the ends of the respective dies I0 and II may pass, said apertures being located at the mid-points of the bases of said recesses. Each of the aforesaid die receiving apertures includes an inner part which makes a sliding fit with the above mentioned reduced inner end of the associated die and an enlarged outer part for receiving the relevant part of the body of said die.

' When it is desired to effect a dimpling operation with the above tool the adjusting screw 8 is unscrewed so that the dies are separated to such an extent that they do not project beyond the opposed surfaces of the above mentioned supparts.

porting blocks I1 and I8, said blocks being maintained however in positions urged towards one another by the above-mentioned springs 23 and 24.. The work to be dimpled is then threaded through the circular opening in the support or bed or is passed laterally thereinto, the latter operation being possible by pressing the work between the slightly divergent outer ends of the blocks I! and Hi, i. e. the ends remote from the pivot bolt of the tool, and thus separating the blocks against their associated springs until such time as the work enters the bed proper whereupon the blocks again spring together. The adjusting screw 8 is then tightened so closing the lever arms I and 2 together, the supporting blocks I1 and I8 being thereby urged together and the ends [2 and [3 of the dies IIJ and H being urged through said blocks and into the work, and so performing the dimpling operation. The tightening operation is continued until further rotation of said screw is prevented by the outer ends of the levers coming together or against a positive stop, the length of the dies being so correlated with said limit position of the lever arms that the dimples are sufiiciently deep to ensure secure gripping of the parts to be interconnected without fracturing or unduly weakening such V The adjusting screw 8 is then turned in a releasing direction so opening the levers and withdrawing the dies and the work which has now been dimpled attwo opposed points is withdrawn from the tool either longitudinally or lat erally as the case may be. If desired further dimples may be formed in other positions on the work in order to increase the security of the interconnection, but for many purposes a single pair of dimples is sufficient.

A tool according to the present invention may be employed for securing tubular bodies and cores of various different kinds. Amongst its many applications we may mention for example the securing of a sleeve, tubular fitting or the like to a flexible cable for instance a cable consisting of a multi-stranded wire.

Whilst I have hereinbefore described one speciflc example of a tool according to the present invention I wish it to be understood that the details may be varied or modified without departing from the scope of such invention. Thus for instance any desired handle or the like may be provided for turning the above-mentioned adjusting screw or the central part thereof may be provided with a hole for a tommy-bar or be suitably shaped for engagement by a key or spanner. Moreover instead of employing an adjusting screw I may employ a series of levers or toggle mechanism for urging the die-carrying levers together. It is also to be understood that the tool may be made of any desired dimensions dependent upon the work for which it is intended and/or the leverage to be exerted.

I claim:

1. A dimpling tool comprising two pivotally interconnected arms, two aligned work-supporting beds pivotally mounted with respect to said arms, work receiving channels extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds, apertures extending through said beds in alignment with said channels and in a direction lying in the plane of movement of said arms, dies mounted on said arms andhaving parts thereof slidably received within said apertures and springs for urging said beds towards one another and away from the respective arms, the length of said dies being such that when said arms are in their opened position and the beds are urged towards one another by the aforesaid springs the said dies do not project beyond the inner faces of the said beds but when the arms are in their closed positions said dies project through said beds and into the workreceiving channels.

2. A dimpling tool comprising two movably interconnected arms, two aligned work-supporting beds pivotally connected to said arms at their lower ends and having their opposed faces outwardly inclined at their upper ends to form a flared opening for facilitating the lateral insertion of the work to be dimpled, work-receiving channels extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds, apertures extending through said beds in alignment with said channels and in a direction lying in the plane of movement of said arms, dies mounted on said arms and having parts thereof slidably received within said apertures and springs for urging said beds towards one another and away from the respective arms, the length of said dies being such that when said arms are in their opened positions and the beds are urged towards one another by the aforesaid springs the said dies do not project beyond the inner faces of the said beds but when the arms are in their closed positions said dies project through said beds and into the work-receiving.

channels.

3. A dimpling tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein said arms are pivotally interconnected at their lower ends, trunnions are fitted to their upper ends, said trunnions having respectively a right and left hand threaded aperture, and a rotary control shaft having right and left hand threaded portions is provided for engaging said apertures and controlling themovements of said arms.

4. A dumping tool comprising two arms pivotally interconnected at their inner ends, two dies mounted in opposed positions on said arms, two Work-supporting beds pivotally mounted in opposed positions on said arms, apertures in said beds, said dies being slidably received by said apertures, springs associated with said beds and resiliently swinging them towards one another, work-receiving recesses extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds and in alignment with said apertures, and means for urging the ends of said arms remote from the pivotally interconnected ones towards and away from one another.

5. A dimpling tool comprising two arms pivotally interconnected at their inner ends, two dies mounted in opposed positions on said arms, two work-supporting beds pivotally mounted in opposed positions on said arms, apertures in said beds, said dies being slidably received by-said apertures, springs associated with said beds and resiliently swinging them towards one another, work-receiving recesses extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds and in alignment with said apertures, a trunnion pivotally mounted on the outer end of each of said arms, and an adjusting screw making screw-threaded engagement with said trunnions, rotation of said screw serving to swing said arms towards and away from one another.

6. A dimpling tool comprising two arms pivotally interconnected at their inner ends, two dies mounted in opposed positions on said arms, two work-supporting beds pivotally mounted in op posed positions on said arms, apertures --in said beds, said dies being slidably received by said apertures, springs associated with said beds and resiliently swinging them towards one another, work-receiving recesses extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds and in alignment with said apertures, a trunnion pivotally mounted on the outer end of each of said arms, and an adjusting screw making screwthreaded engagement with said trunnions, the engagement with one trunnion being through a right-hand thread and that with the other trunnion being'through a left-hand thread.

7. A dimpling tool comprising two arms, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting said arms at their inner ends, two dies extending inwardly in opposed positions from the inner faces of said arms, two work-supporting beds pivotally mounted in aligned positions on the inner faces of said arms, apertures in said beds, said dies being slidably received by said apertures, springs associated with said beds and resiliently swinging them towards one another, work-receiving recesses extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds and 'in alignment with said apertures, trunnions pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms, an adjusting screw extending between said trunnions and making screw-threaded engagement therewith and means for positively limiting the extent to which said arms can be moved towards one another b rotation of said adjusting screw.

8. A -=dimpling tool comprising two arms, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting said arms at their inner ends, two dies extending inwardly in opposed positions from the inner faces of said arms, two mounted in aligned positions on the inner faces work-supporting beds pivotally of said arms, apertures in said beds, said dies being slidably received by said apertures, springs associated with said beds and resiliently swinging them towards one another, work-receiving recesses extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds and in alignment with said apertures, trunnions pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms, an adjusting screw extending between said trunnions and making screw-threaded engagement therewith and means for positively limiting the extent to which said arms can be moved towards one another and the extent to which said dies can be caused to project beyond the inner surfaces of said beds pursuant to rotation of said adjusting screw in a tightening direction.

9. A dimpling tool comprising two arms, a hinge pin pivotally interconnecting the inner ends of said arms, two dies detachably and movably fitted in opposed positions on the inner surfaces of said arms and projecting inwardly therefrom, two work-supporting beds mounted in aligned positions on the inner faces of said arms and pivotable about said hinge pin, side plates projecting from said beds over the adjacent side surfaces of said arms and guiding said beds in their pivotal movement, apertures in said beds, said dies being slidably received by said apertures, means for limiting the extent to which said dies can slide through said apertures, springs associated with said beds and resiliently swinging them towards one another, work-receiving recesses extending laterally across the opposed faces of said beds and aligned with said, apertures, trunnions pivotally mounted on the outer ends of said arms, an adjusting-screw extending between said trunnions and making right-handed screw-threaded engagement with one trunnion and left-handed screw-threaded engagement with the other one, and means for limiting the extent to which said arms can be moved together pursuant to rotation of said adjusting screw in a tightening direction.

RUPERT CLIFFORD TURTLE. 

